The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1887-12-07

Was slowed n where il struck the rock--
Rnnninr up to 4 I saw il was empty
,ionr the strtsch of besch no other CD
jecs xss aisoerniile.
II eyed the expsnse u water afd per
caixed a.iark olsje,f i,.,i,hing up and down
in the surf A closer view revealed what
caused my hood 10 almost freeze IN my
veins That which was the sport q The
waves were the bodies 81 my dear parents.
Thew were clasi,e,i togeiher 0vereomirg
the feeling Of horror and sickness that
anne over me I dashed into the water up
70 my waist. aad. with almost superhn-
man ssrenei J., brought out the bodies
from the waves. Dragging them 70 adry
-not I fen over the cold forms in a'ieadly
fsint ] recovered INV senses only 10
faint again. viii no; dwell upon What
followed. sobbed and moaned where
| Law al day and night and prayed that
/ might die beside my father and moth
er The following day was calrner, and
using one Of the broad biaded oars Of the
canoe. which I found under one Of the
seats of the vessel l dug deep hole m
the sand. and laid the bodies of my iath-
er and mother IN the grave. was SO
stunned and overcome with anguish that
tn. occurrence of tsaie two or three follow
ing DAYS are dim in my memory lkno"
found some water-soaked food in the
locker Of the canoe, and that ] waded out
10 the reefs at low tide and gathened
sbell-fish. In a grove of cocoanut trees
near the shore | discovered spring OF
fresh water. As strength returned to me,
resolved to explore the vicinity and see
if could learn where ] was. Being
afraid of meeting hostile natives, ] acted
with great caution, moving sIealthily
through the palm groves.
"At night | laid down in some shelter
ed nook and used fern leaves as protee-
ton against the damp dews. Four days
passed and | learned that 1 WAS on q
small island, which appeared to be un-
inhabited except by nasty looking sPe-
cies Of bat and small pigs and rats. The
pigs were wild and savage, aud ! had to
evade them TO keep from being attacked
NV only sustenances were cocoanuts and
species Of wild berries. Thennts | found
on the gro md, where they had fallen
during storms. According to my reckon
ing about three months of this monoto-
nous exi .tence passed away. Ny clothes
were worn into tatters. Every morning
hathed in the sea and made frugal
meal on fruit. The rest of the day ]
spent in exercise and reading stained
COPY of the Bible which | found IN the
locker Of the canoe. did not fail TO put
fresh greens on my parents grave. The
canoe when turned over made comfort
able abiding place at night, crawling in
through hole in the side There were
three storms during my stay there. OF
course was drenched ! think if my ex-
istence as a Crusoe had lasted much long
er would either have gone crazy or died.
A. it was. the consolation afforded one by
reading the Bible gave me strength.
cone day saw party of natives
land from a canoe ! hid and watched
them and soon recognized among them
several friendly faces | had seen at the
Wesleyan school at Kardavu. lcalled to
I ZEN, and on coming up they knew me.
cannot tell you how glad was TO be
taken into their canoe 10 the colony at
Kardavu. where ] was heartily welcomed.
The deepest regret was expressed over
the fate of my poor parents. That is all
have to say in relation to the subject.
| determined to follow up the good work
Of my father, and think have been
successful. The treacherous Ko-ko was
banished from the island and died in a
leprosy colony year or 20 afterward. /
had my parents remains removed from
the lonely island and decently Inferred
| al Kardavu."